‘Pictures Of Ghosts’ Review – Gone In A Flash

Writer-Director Kleber Mendonça Filho uses his latest film to showcase how a space that so many have lived, laughed, and loved in can change over time – and the ghosts that are left behind. Breathlessly nostalgic and sentimental, Filho sets a somber and reflective atmosphere over the world he grew up and created in. What it once meant to him, what it means now, and if any of it even mattered.

Filho takes us back to the beginning in an apartment he grew up in with his family in the 70s. Here, they laughed and played and fell in love with movies. A love that would continue to this day. He takes us through small moments that reflected back into the films he made, and how he covered every inch of that apartment, from every angle, and told every story he could think of. In these moments, Filho explores the depth of film and the symbolism of life. It is a life lived in practice and pictures. Both authentic and yet blending into each other.

Here he is also conveying a way to be an artist. You can keep it simple. Shoot in one location. Shoot the same area over and over again from different angles and get a whole new story out of it. In this, we see Filho point the camera at himself. His life in this wondrous apartment in the city of Recife, Brazil. The stories he made up and the ones he lived while he was there. He tries to capture them all to tell them to us, but there’s so much that can be told, and not enough time to do so. 

Later in the film, we shift to the cinema of Recife. Filho grew up watching the films that would come to Brazil and shaped not just who he was as an artist, but also the world around him. In this, we meet Alexandre Moura, the projectionist at the Art Palacio—one of the oldest standing movie palaces in Recife. Filho takes us on a journey through film history, architecture, and Brazilian history as he goes through the changes that have happened to his city over the years.

The film is a poetic, poignant reflection of time gone by. He tries not to harp on what has been lost, nor does he wish for any of it back. The film isn’t about reverting to his childhood and the things he loved. It’s about recognizing what once was, appreciating it, then experiencing what can now be, and knowing that will also change someday.Kleber finds himself reflecting on his childhood, his career, his city, and the people who contributed to his love of cinema. You will find yourself transfixed by this meditative prose on the power of preservation through film. We are out to capture something. Whether it’s an idea in our heads or a moment in time, its significance lingers forever. Even if a little trace of it is left behind like a sign or an old projector, the ghosts of the past carry on into what is next. 

Kleber Mendonça Filho’s film can be a slow-moving journey if you’re unfamiliar with his work or unsure of where the film goes. Its sprawling, decades-spanning narration covering so many topics can seem a bit overwhelming at times to where it may be easy to lose your place, but that’s fine. As centralized as this story may be, one can relate to the salience of what Filho is going for. It is simply that art lives, in many ways, in many shapes, in many lifetimes. Whether it lasts or not, you should still be making more of it. 

Pictures of Ghosts is currently available in select theaters courtesy of Grasshopper Film. The film will expand to additional markets in the coming weeks. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD6pc43kEWI]